Insole for shoes

ABSTRACT

An insole includes upper and lower layers of soft and hard materials. The upper layer includes forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot regions, the hindfoot and midfoot regions have outer peripheral portions located at an elevation higher than an upper surface of the upper layer. The midfoot region has an inner arch side with an inner arch protrusion projecting upwardly from the upper surface of the upper layer to a certain height greater than an average height of the upper layer. The lower layer is attached to the midfoot and hindfoot regions of the upper layer, includes an integrally formed fan-shaped and a hook-shaped sections. The fan-shaped and hook-shaped sections are disposed in such a manner to extend towards front and rear ends of the upper layer. The hook-shaped section has left and right sides extending towards outer and inner arch sides corresponding to the hindfoot region of the upper layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an insole, and more particularly to an insole for shoes which is ergonomically designed in such a manner to absorb shock and impact of the foot against the ground, thereby enabling a person to maintain a normal walking condition.

2. The Prior Arts

When we are walking, we are putting 0.8-1.2 times of our body weight on a single foot in addition to the counterforce from the ground. The counterforce of the ground usually causes problems in our ankles, knees, skeleton or other body parts and in the long time, may result in injury to our foot, especially knees and ankles. To avoid this, it is best to put an insole in our shoes to absorb the stress or shock.

A conventional insole is fabricated from leathers and simply provides support to our feet. In other words, the conventional insole is weak in shock absorption. U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,126 has proposed an insole fabricated from elastic materials and is a choice to remedy the defects of the conventional insole and is suitable for every pair of shoes, since the elastic materials can absorb the shock caused during walking, thereby protecting the foot from being injured. Hence, the insole fabricated from elastic materials is much preferred due to its thickness for putting into the shoes and comfort provided thereby. A water-absorption breathable fabric is generally provided on the elastic insole.

Owing to damping characteristics of the elastic insole and due to each person requires energy during walking, the muscles of the foot still may get fatigue. In addition, it is noted that the elastic insole is too soft and is weak in resistance against the impact of the ground.

Moreover, a human foot generally has an arch portion that defines a gap with a supporting surface such that during walking (when the foot touches the ground) a gap is formed between the arch portion of one person's foot and the insole. The conventional insole fails to provide cushioning effect to the arch portion of the foot, hence causing fatigue to the walking foot.

Another drawback of the conventional insole resides in that the hindfoot portion is generally flat and therefore fails to provide cushioning effect the heel of the foot, thereby causing discomfort the wearing person.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,776,399 has proposed an elastic insole, which has the structure the closest to the insole of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an insole that is ergonomically constructed, that has a better impact resistance and that provides comfortable feeling during walking.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an insole which provides a cushioning effect to the arch portion and the heel of the foot during touching of the ground so as to reduce fatigue of foot mentioned in the prior arts.

One distinct feature of the present invention resides in that an upper layer fabricated from soft materials is adapted to be inserted into an interior of a shoe, includes a forefoot region, a midfoot region and a hindfoot region, and a lower layer fabricated from hard materials is attached to bottom surfaces of the midfoot and hindfoot regions of the flexible upper layer such that the upper and lower layers cooperatively define the midfoot region that projects upward with respect to an upper surface of the forefoot region. The midfoot region has an inner arch side, wherein the inner arch side has an inner arch protrusion that projects upwardly from the upper surface of the upper layer to a certain height. The lower layer has a fan-shaped section and a hook-shaped section integrally formed with the fan-shaped section. The fan-shaped section and the hook-shaped section are disposed in such a manner to extend respectively towards front and rear ends of the upper layer, wherein the hook-shaped section has left and right sides extending towards outer and inner arch sides corresponding to the hindfoot region of the upper layer such that when the insole of the present invention is inserted into an interior of a shoe, the insole provides effective cushioning support to the arch portion and the heel portion of the wearer's foot due to its ergonomic structure.

One aspect of the present invention resides in that the soft materials for fabrication of the upper layer can include TPR (ThermoPlastic Rubber) TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer), TPU (Polyurethanes), Silicone, Poron, PU (Polyyrethane), EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate), Sponge and Rubber such that after fabrication, the upper layer is configured as an inner bottom side of a shoe, and includes a forefoot region, a midfoot region and a hindfoot region, wherein the hindfoot region and the midfoot region have outer peripheral portions that are located at an elevation higher than an upper surface of the upper layer. The midfoot region has an inner arch side, wherein the inner arch side has an inner arch protrusion that projects upwardly from the upper surface of the upper layer to a certain height greater than an average height of the periphery defining the upper layer.

The upper layer is attached to a lower layer via extrusion method. The hard materials for fabrication of the lower layer can include ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PP (Polypropylene), PE (Polyethylene), TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and Nylon. The lower layer has a fan-shaped section and a hook-shaped section integrally formed with the fan-shaped section, the fan-shaped section and the hook-shaped section being disposed in such a manner to extend respectively towards front and rear ends of the upper layer, wherein the hook-shaped section has left and right sides extending towards outer and inner arch sides corresponding to the hindfoot region of the upper layer.

Preferably, the left side of the hook-shaped section extends toward the inner arch side of the upper layer, and has an elevation higher than an elevation of the right side of the hook-shaped section extending towards the outer arch side of the upper layer. Due to such a configuration, the inner arch portion of the foot, which requires to burden a relatively heavy part of the body weight and which can receive better supporting and cushioning effects.

Preferably, in one embodiment, the upper and lower layers cooperatively define the midfoot region that projects upward with respect to an upper surface of the forefoot region such that the sole of the foot is sufficiently supported by the midfoot region of the insole of the present invention.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper surface of the forefoot region of the upper layer is flat such that once the insole of the present invention is inserted into an interior of a shoe, the forefoot of a foot feels comfortable due to touching of the forefoot against the flat forefoot region of the upper layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insole of the present invention for a shoe;

FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a right side view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B is a left side view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines V-V in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VI-VI in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VII-VII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VIII-VIII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines IX-IX in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines X-X in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a flexible lower layer fabricated from hard materials employed in the insole of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a top planar view of the flexible lower layer shown in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible lower layer of the present invention taken along lines XIII-XIII in FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Since left and right insoles of the present invention are symmetric relative to each other, a right insole is used for illustration in the following explanation. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 12, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insole of the present invention for a shoe; FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2A is a right side view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 2B is a left side view of the insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines III-III in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines IV-IV in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines V-V in FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VI-VI in FIG. 2; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VII-VII in FIG. 2; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines VIII-VIII in FIG. 2; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines IX-IX in FIG. 2; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of the present invention taken along lines X-X in FIG. 2; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a flexible lower layer fabricated from hard materials employed in the insole of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a top planar view of the flexible lower layer shown in FIG. 11; and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible lower layer of the present invention taken along lines XIII-XIII in FIG. 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 2A, 2B and 3, an insole of the present invention accordingly includes a flexible lower layer 2 and a flexible upper layer 1 fabricated from soft materials including TPR (ThermoPlastic Rubber) TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer), TPU (Polyurethanes), Silicone, Poron, PU (Polyyrethane), EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate), Sponge and Rubber such that the upper layer 1 is configured as an inner bottom side of a shoe, includes a forefoot region A, a midfoot region B and a hindfoot region C, wherein the hindfoot region A supports and cushions a forefoot of a foot (not visible), the midfoot region B supports, cushions and touches the arch portion of a midfoot of the foot (not visible) while the hindfoot region C supports and cushions the heel of the foot (not visible) once the upper layer 1 is inserted into a shoe and after which a person foot is also disposed into the shoe.

The flexible lower layer 2 fabricated from hard materials is attached to bottom surface of the flexible upper layer 1 such that the periphery of the forefoot region A is designed to be configured as a profile similar to the toes of a foot (not visible) so that two sides of a rear part of the forefoot regain A gradually increase in thickness towards the periphery of the hindfoot region C, thereby permitting fitting of the insole of the present invention securely within a shoe. In addition, after coupling or attachment of the upper and lower layers 1, 2 together, the hindfoot region C has a thickness greater than that of the forefoot region A, because when a person is walking, the hindfoot region C has to burden more amount of weight and impact against the ground when compared with that of the forefoot region A. In order to provide a convenient comfort, an extra layer (not visible) can be formed on the upper side surface of the upper layer 1. Preferably, the hindfoot region C and the midfoot region B should have outer peripheral portions that are located at an elevation higher than an upper surface of the upper layer 1 while the midfoot region B has an inner arch side, wherein the inner arch side has an inner arch protrusion 11 that projects upwardly from the upper surface of the upper layer 1 to a certain height greater than an average height of the periphery defining the upper layer 1.

It is to note that since the materials from which the upper layer 1 is fabricated has a greater softness compared with the materials from which the lower layer 2 is fabricated, the strength and resiliency of the insole of the present invention is enhanced. Preferably, the lower layer 2 attached to a bottom side surface of the upper layer 1 is fabricated from substantially hard materials including ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PP (Polypropylene), PE (Polyethylene), TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and Nylon such that after extrusion of the insole of the present invention, the upper and lower layers 1, 2 are integrally formed relative to each other and cooperatively define the midfoot region B and the hindfoot region C. The midfoot region B projects upward with respect to an upper surface of the forefoot region A.

Referring to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, the lower layer 2 preferably has a fan-shaped section 21 and a hook-shaped section 22 integrally formed with the fan-shaped section 21. The fan-shaped section 21 and the hook-shaped section 22 are disposed in such a manner to extend respectively towards front and rear ends of the upper layer 1, wherein the hook-shaped section 22 has left and right sides extending towards outer and inner arch sides corresponding to the hindfoot region C of the upper layer 1. As best shown in FIGS. 5-10, the left side of the hook-shaped section 22 extends toward the inner arch side of the upper layer 1 and has an elevation higher than an elevation of the right side of the hook-shaped section 22 extending towards the outer arch side of the upper layer 1.

Preferably, in one embodiment of the present invention, the upper and lower layers 1, 2 cooperatively define the midfoot region B that projects upward with respect to an upper surface of the forefoot region A. To be more specific, the upper surface of the forefoot region A of the upper layer 1 is flat (see FIG. 4).

An important aspect to note is that due to different materials from which the upper and lower layers 1, 2 are fabricated ergonomically, the midfoot region B of the insole of the present invention projects upward respect to the remaining part so as to provide a total support and cushioning effect to the arch portion of a wearing foot, thereby preventing occurrence of fatigue to the foot. In addition, due to the periphery of the hindfoot region C enveloping the periphery of the heel of the wearing foot ergonomically, the insole of the present invention absorbs the shock when the foot touches the ground during walking and hence providing comfort support to the heel.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A insole comprising: a flexible upper layer fabricated from soft materials and configured as an inner bottom side of a shoe, including a forefoot region, a midfoot region and a hindfoot region, wherein said hindfoot region and said midfoot region have outer peripheral portions that are located at an elevation higher than an upper surface of said upper layer, said midfoot region having an inner arch side, wherein said inner arch side has an inner arch protrusion that projects upwardly from said upper surface of said upper layer to a certain height greater than an average height of the periphery defining the upper layer; and a flexible lower layer fabricated from hard materials being attached to bottom surfaces of said midfoot and hindfoot regions of said flexible upper layer, said lower layer having a fan-shaped section and a hook-shaped section integrally formed with said fan-shaped section, said fan-shaped section and said hook-shaped section being disposed in such a manner to extend respectively towards front and rear ends of said upper layer, wherein said hook-shaped section has left and right sides extending towards outer and inner arch sides corresponding to said hindfoot region of said upper layer.
 2. The insole according to claim 1, wherein said left side of said hook-shaped section extends toward said inner arch side of said upper layer and has an elevation higher than an elevation of said right side of said hook-shaped section extending towards said outer arch side of said upper layer.
 3. The insole according to claim 1, wherein said upper and lower layers cooperatively define said midfoot region that projects upward with respect to an upper surface of said forefoot region.
 4. The insole according to claim 2, wherein said upper surface of said forefoot region of said upper layer is flat. 